Cycle of Love
by Fenikkusu Ai
Summary: She loves him, but he doesn't love her. Can time heal all wounds? MaySteven pairing.
1. Rejection

The heat inside the cave was stifling in the late July weather, no matter if there was a cool refreshing waterfall in the immediate vicinity or not.

"I love you, Steven."

How was he supposed to respond to that? May had traveled on her Skarmory's back (a female of course—the perfect match for his own bird of steel) all over Hoenn until she had recently tracked him down in Meteor Falls.

He couldn't prevent a nervous smile from creeping onto his lips. "Really? You do?"

"Aron?" The pokemon that had taken up residence besides Steven's calf looked up at his trainer inquisitively.

"Yes." May's crystal-blue eyes shimmered in determination. "I do! I do love you!" Only her Blaziken could produce more heat than she could at this present moment. May truly was a fire trainer with her passionate outbursts.

Unfortunately, fire melted steel.

Steven shook his head. "May, listen to me…"

"What? You don't feel the same way?"

He wasn't quite sure how to respond. Instead, he answered her question with another question.

"May, how old are you?"

"I'll be sixteen in August."

"All right, so, you' re fifteen now."

"Only for one more month!"

"Aron?" The steel-rock pokemon seemed to be debating whether it was necessary to defend his trainer or to hide behind him—anything to stop the new champion's barrage of verbal attacks.

"I'm twenty-one," he said softly. "Do you know what that means?"

As if sensing where this conversation was headed, May's brow furrowed. "Age doesn't…"

He interrupted her.

"In this context, it certainly does matter. May, what you are experiencing is something called 'hero worship.' You really don't mean what you say— "

May rather childishly clapped her hands over her ears. "I'm not hearing this."

"You have to accept it, May. I'm not the right man for you. In reality, you're just a kid with a crush."

May looked like she was about to bawl. Then, without warning, she turned around and sprinted through the cave; sobs echoing around her. Sobs echoing around them _both_.

Resignedly, Steven turned around as well. Though he knew he had taken the correct course of action, he couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt and loss.

If possible, the interior of the cave grew hotter in the late summer evening.


	2. Payback

DISCLAIMER: For safety's sake, I decided to add that neither May nor Steven belong to me. (Only in my fantasies…) Pokemon doesn't either.

* * *

The weather turned unseasonably cold when it came high-time for autumn to transform the tree leaves from a tender viridian green to a dry russet brown. Shivering inside his sweater, Steven gazed out upon the chilly waters that bordered Mossdeep City. The sun was starting to set—at six in the evening—and was transforming the eggshell blue sky into a wondrous ocher.

Staring at the sky with full attention required every facet of Steven's mind. It was no simple matter just _watching_ the clouds grow tails until they swam into nothingness on their coral-shaded backdrop. No. This natural wonder required absolute alertness or the picture of perfection would be spoiled forever. All the same, even Steven's eyes wandered when a rather distinctive giggle sounded from behind him.

"Bradley, _stop_."

A bit sulkily, Steven turned to behold May leaning into another trainer's embrace. Innocent sixteen-year old May whispering into another man's ear. Needlessly, her burgundy scarf fluttered in the twilight breeze. Soon enough, her gaze aligned directly with his own. She started in shock.

"Steven!" she gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"I live in this city," he replied blandly.

Bradley's face wasted no time turning into a delightful shade of cherry. "Who's _this_?" he demanded.

_Who's this?…_

It stung. Just a little bit. Now that May was the new champion, everyone had forgotten about Steven What's-his name. Fame was fickle. Just like hasty relationships.

May rubbed the scowling trainer's arm.

"This is Steven Stone. The former champion? He's a friend of mine."

_Was a friend of mine…_

"Former champion, huh?" The trainer leered at him from beneath his sunglasses. Wearing sunglasses on an October evening signified either one of two things--an overabundance of stupidity or an overabundance of a need for attention. Steven voted for the latter. He had seen his type before. May perhaps genuinely didn't know it, but she was in danger of getting her heart broken.

After Bradley was presumably done sizing him up, he boredly shifted his eyes to his trophy girlfriend. "I'm going to grab a bite. Come with me when you're done." Bradley then shot him a hard stare that screamed 'don't try anything' before leaving the impressions of his sneakers behind him as he trotted across the sand.

Anxiously, May tucked a strand of gleaming purple hair behind her ear. "That's Bradley. You know, my boyfriend. We met at school. He's just my age, and he's only been a trainer for a few months."

The caustic words were meant to burn, but Steven countered them like a Wobuffet.

"Really? He acts like he's been a trainer longer than me."

May's mouth dropped open in outrage. "Don't you dare criticize him! Just because he's not as good as you--"

"I've heard enough." With this guarded warning, Steven directed his attention back to the accommodating sea.

"I love Bradley," he heard. "I love him. Then again, someone with a heart of steel would never understand."

Before he could reply, his former admirer had already scuttled down the shoreline--leaving Steven alone to his thoughts which in itself was a terrifying prospect.

The autumn winds turned wintry as they whistled past his reddened ears. Somehow, the previous picture of perfection the meeting of sky and sea had brought together was now marred.


End file.
